Realm of the Runes: Blood Right

Chapter VI

October 28, 2099 AD

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Matthaios parked his Harley in his regular spot, pulling off his boots and lacing up his oxfords.

Gods, I hate this job.

An emptiness had settled in his chest ever since Mum passed away, and he headed to the office in silence, his mind far, far away. He scanned though hundreds and hundreds of claims, and his eyes blurred.

Cancer, cancer, cancer.

He blinked.

Literally hundreds of insurance claims for work-related illnesses had been flooding into the office for months. And the primary illness was cancer.

Is this a coincidence?

He frowned. Lung cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma, brain tumors, bone cancer, the list went on.

What is this?

A repetitive series of tuberculosis claims, all from the same industrial area.

Where is Feldheim? It's in the western industrial area, isn't it?

He quickly did a search on his Holophone.

Confirmed. Huh. Maybe I should talk to my superior to investigate this.

He stood up and logged out of his account, heading to the main office.

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Mr. Feldstone was a portly man with a bright red nose and dark grey hairs sprouting from the crown of his head. He looked up from the holographic 3D screen he was working, and motioned for Matthaios to come in.

"Is there a problem?"

"No problem that I'm aware of as yet, Mr. Feldstone," Matthaios answered smoothly. "However, I just noticed a large number of identical claims coming from a certain area, and I was wondering if we should investigate."

"These are corporate claims or private?"

"Private work-related claims, sir. All from employees of the same company."

"And what company would that be?"

"Geldmant Incorporated."

His boss started. "Are you certain?"

"Absolutely, sir."

"Hurumph." The man's cheeks flushed red. "That is a subsidiary of one of our largest clients. Perhaps I should deal with this issue."

"As you see fit, sir."

"Good. Transfer the files to me, if you will."

Matthaios couldn't brush away the uneasy feeling prickling the back of his neck as he walked away.

Shifty eyes, flushed cheeks, tense shoulders, clenched fists... He's definitely up to something.

He did transfer the files. But not until he'd saved copies of every single one onto his Holophone.

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Ryaki ran her fingers through her freshly washed hair, as she did a mental review of the information collected so far.